'Love Is Blind' Stars Danielle Ruhl & Nick Thompson Are Calling Out Nick Viall For Alleged Insults On His Podcast
By Taylor Hodgkins on April 29, 2023 at 2:45 PM EDT
Nick Viall is in hot water with "Love Is Blind" alum Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson.
Viall has struck a chord with the former "Love Is Blind" couple.
Ruhl and Thompson both posted on their respective social media accounts, calling out Viall for his alleged conduct during a recent episode of "The Viall Files."
Yesterday, Thompson posted a TikTok just over a minute long wherein he insinuated that the former "Bachelor" had called him "stupid."
The TikTok also features text reading, "Nick Viall Sides with Producers to Push the 'Everything's Fine in Reality TV Narrative."
The next day, Thompson's ex-wife took to Instagram to voice her discontent with Viall, writing a long post wherein she opens up about the pain she felt from Viall's comments about reality shows hiring cast members with a history of mental health struggles.
Thompson Fires Back At Viall, Alleging He Is Pushing 'Pure Propoganda'
Thompson's TikTok opens with a clip from "The Viall Files" which features the 42-year-old reality star saying, "We have poor reality TV stars who aren't smart enough to monetize their Instagram."
The TikTok then cuts to a clip of Thompson where he says "Nick Viall has made his opinion clear. He does not believe that reality TV producers are responsible for ensuring cast members are provided mental health support, fundamental human rights, basic labor law protections, and so on. He continues to punch down from his podcast studio to our newly found profit, the UCAN foundation, all in an attempt to discredit and dehumanize our work. He's resorted to slinging personal insults about intelligence and platform monetization, What?" Thompson explains.
He continues, "personal insults happen when somebody doesn't want to debate you on the merits of your issue. There is a difference between taking an opportunity and the moral obligation to provide basic support to human beings. We all see you don't believe reality TV personalities deserve to be treated like human beings. Instead, you protect the producers [and] production companies by pushing a narrative that is pure propaganda. When you decide to come to the right side of the issue, or at least [when] you want to have a productive dialogue about it, I'm here for it with no hard feelings," Thompson concludes his TikTok.
Thompson's TikTok comes shortly after he recalled his experience following the release of Business Insider's recent article wherein several "Love Is Blind" cast members shared their experiences of alleged mistreatment on set. Thompson claims he lost 15 pounds while filming due to "limited food and water."
Thompson and fellow season 2 "Love Is Blind" contestant Jeremy Hartwell have created the UCAN foundation as a result, which "is aimed at supporting mental health and legal support to the present, past, current, and future contestants of reality shows," according to The Blast's report on the matter.
Our report also states this coverage would be extended to contestants of all reality shows and is not limited to the Netflix dating series.
Ruhl Echos Her Ex-Husband By Detailing Her Own Thoughts About Viall On Social Media
Ruhl detailed her own reaction to Viall's comments in an Instagram post, posted on Friday afternoon.
She posted a video where she shares her thoughts and also expands on them in the post's caption.
In addition to her thoughts, Ruhl shared two clips from "The Viall Files" which showcase Viall's comments in reference to Ruhl's recent admission that she feels the show's psychologists allegedly used the information they collected from her pre-show mental health screening against her.
In her video, Ruhl begins, "So it was brought to my attention that Nick Viall did a podcast that was essentially a slam piece that also poked fun of the fact I had previously attempted suicide."
"I remember the first time I ever discussed this in an interview and I was so hesitant to do so, I was terrified for it to come out, because this isn't easy stuff to talk about. It is people like Nick Viall that make it hard to talk about," she says. "It is people like Nick Viall that [it's] a reason it is still stigmatized. That it's a reason why people don't wanna speak out about it. There's a reason why people are embarrassed by it."
She continues, "He's saying comments in a way that make people who have attempted suicide feel less than. I hope that he recognizes there is a wide breadth of people outside of just me who are feeling this too. And the fact that he's wanting to go back to school to become a therapist when his entire career is bringing people down, when he doesn't understand the sensitivities around mental health, or [suicidal] ideations, or those who have attempted suicide in the past, like, that's scary," she says before the video cuts off.